Dung beetles have this really neat trick by which they’re able to use the positions of the stars to orient themselves along a straight line, making them the only known animal to use the Milky Way for navigation. Exactly how they do this has remained a mystery—until now.

This article will save your life. A basic paper map is the simplest, most reliable and most effective way to find your location and navigate somewhere else. But, in the age of GPS and Google Maps, many people have forgotten how to use one. Here's how to never get lost again.

Pebble owners, heads up! You can update to version 2.5, allowing your smartwatch to display emoji, play nice with iOS 8, and finally use its internal compass. If you're using your Pebble alongside an iPhone, you can now dismiss notifications right from your watch. [Pebble Blog]

In what could be the most stylish camping accessory ever created, Meister designed this gold and titanium pendant that transforms into a functioning compass. So whether you're deep in the woods, or strutting down a runway, you'll theoretically never get lost with some basic survival skills. That, and just over $3,000…

As you battle your way into the great outdoors on a hike or camping excursion, you need both hands free for pushing away branches, or fighting off wildlife—not handling a compass. So to guarantee you're still headed in the right direction, this vibrating compass will always keep you aware of true north, without…

Before the invention of modern navigational equipment, ancient sailors crossed the seas largely through their knowledge of the positions of the Sun and stars. So how did Vikings cross from Europe to America in the often foggy, cloudy northern Atlantic?

The Joule stand was my favorite iPad stand until I saw Twelvesouth's Compass. Now my heart is divided. I really like the angular design and its portability. But what I really like is its price: Just $40.

OK, I'll admit it: it's rare that I come across a do-it-yourself project that even for a moment makes me consider getting off my lazy ass to actually make something. But this compass-inlaid table points me in that direction.

Sony just announced a Cyber-Shot point-and-shoot camera with both GPS and a digital compass, so you can use Google Maps to find the best shooting spot in your area. Plus, it's packing an impressively high-end sensor.

No matter how bored you are these holidays, or how high/drunk from all the snaffling and quaffing of mince pies and Baileys, please don't make this snow dome sundial/compass/spirit level watch. Promise me? [Instructables]

Allow me to geek out for a moment. I mean, really geek out—more than dressed up D&D geek out. I mean like, this is the shit you don't share with people for fear of complete social and parental ostracism.

Someone did an application to detect metal using the Android G1. Is this because the G1 is more smartypanties than other smartphones? Is it magic perhaps? No, it's a clever use of the built-in compass.

Man, I don't even ski and I want this. The Timex Expedition WS4 features a altimeter, barometer, thermometer, chronograph, alarm and compass packed into a sweet-looking, rugged sport watch with a big display.

I have no idea what a Feng Shui compass is supposed to do (even after reading that explanation), but I do know that this is the world's first electronic Feng Shui compass—and that's automatically awesome. Did the crazy people who invented Feng Shui 4,000 years ago imagine that their imaginary system of furniture…

Casio's G'zOne rugged-ass cellphone has been updated yet again, and this time it's called the Boulder. The Mil-Spec clamshell's got GPS, a 1.3MP camera, an LED lantern, microSD support and a digital compass in its shock-, dust- and water-resistant frame. The Boulder is out now in black or orange for $130 after 2-year…

Ah, Brando. The soft "ping" in my inbox that heralds yet another slice of pedestrian weirdness from everyone's favorite purveyor of odds 'n' sods. And today's offering was no different: a pair of watches from toolmaker Stanley. One sports a 16-position compass, but it's the other one that got me all excited—a…